In many fields of use and, in particular, in the electrical industry, it is necessary to coat a ferrous metal. Such a coating desirably performs the function of separating and purifying the ferrous material and reacting with surface silica in the steel to form an electrical insulating layer.
For example, in the transformer art, the cores of transformers are usually formed of a ferrous material, such as silicon steel, which may be provided with a preferred grain growth orientation through annealing to provide optimal electrical and magnetic properties. It is necessary to provide a coating on the ferrous material prior to the final high temperature grain growth anneal. This coating performs three functions, including: separating the various turns or layers of the coiled material to prevent their sticking or welding together during high temperature annealing; aiding in the chemical purification of the ferrous material to develop desired optimum characteristics of the metal; and forming on the surface of the ferrous material being treated a refractory-type coating which electrically insulates one layer of ferrous material from the next during its use as a transformer or an electrical aparatus such as a motor armature or the like.
In the present state of the electrical apparatus art, the most widely used coating for a ferrous-containing material is a coating of magnesium oxide and/or magnesium hydroxide. These coatings are generally applied to the ferrous material in the form of a slurry or suspension of magnesium oxide and/or magnesium hydroxide in water. The slurry or suspension (slurry and suspension are used synonomously herein) comprises a quantity of magnesium oxide or magnesium hydroxide in water and is mixed sufficiently for the desired application; the magnesium oxide may be hydrated to an extent depending on the character of the oxide used, the duration of mixing and the temperature of the suspension or slurry.
As set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 2,385,332, during heat treatment at suitable temperatures, magnesium oxide can be caused to react with silica particles on or near the surface of a previously oxidized silicon-iron sheet stock to form a glass-like coating. Such coatings are useful as interlaminary insulators when silicon-iron sheets are used in electrical apparatuses, as for example in the core of a transformer.
In the production of silicon steel for the magnetic cores of transformers, the steel is generally annealed to provide optimum grain growth orientation which develops the magnetic properties of silicon steel. This anneal, which is usually carried out in a dry hydrogen atmosphere at high temperatures, also aids in purifying the steel. During annealing, the magnesium oxide in the added slurry or suspension reacts with silica on the surface of the silicon steel to form a glass-like coating of magnesium silicate. This glass-like coating provides electrical insulation during the use of the silicon steel in electrical apparatuses.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,823 describes magnesium oxide compositions which eliminate "tight magnesia", i.e., excess magnesium oxide which adheres tightly to the annealed coating (glass film) formed on silicon steel, while minimizing the hydration rate in the aqueous coating bath. More particularly, a portion of the magnesium oxide in the coating slurry or suspension reacts with the surface silica to form a glass-like magnesium silicate coating, while the unreacted portion remains as excess magnesium oxide which must be removed prior to further processing. Generally, this removal is accomplished by mechanical scrubbing with nylon bristle brushes or the like. After scrubbing, if there is a residue, it is termed "tight magnesia" and is undesirable. The method of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,823 utilizes admixtures of barium oxide, barium nitrate, chromium nitrate, or their hydrates with magnesium oxide in a slurry to minimize the formation of "tight magnesia", thereby improving the stacking factor of the steel and improving production yield by lessening the quantities of unacceptable steel caused by "tight magnesia" deposits.
The instant invention represents a further improvement of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,823 method. More particularly, an improved, calcination-modified magnesium oxide is prepared by adding barium, lithium, silicon, chromium, zinc or aluminum salts to a magnesium hydroxide slurry, prior to calcination, and then calcining. These salts produce a calcination-modified magnesium oxide, which, when used in steel coating slurries, prevents the occurrence of tight magnesia and improves the quality of the glassy film formed on silicon steels.
The distinction between this invention and the method of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,823 is that the instant additives are added prior to calcination, while the additives of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,823 are merely blended with calcined magnesium oxide in the coating slurry. Pre-calcination addition of the instant additives enhances the sintering of magnesium hydroxide during calcination. Enhancement of sintering during production of a calcined magnesium oxide product reduces "tight magnesia" when the calcination-modified magnesium oxide is used to coat silicon steel. This occurs because increased sintering during calcination reduces sintering during annealing.